Accursed Embers
by Kirrari
Summary: A collection of non-linear Ty Lee and Azula moments interwoven into one story.Part songfic,but more story-driven.Watch Azula plummet into darkness and Ty Lee fight for her back!Yuri&femslash warning.One-shot.


**A/N: If you're reading this and are interested in more TyZula, when you're done browsin', wouldja' go to my other fanfic "A Letter For My Dragon Princess"? I've never typed up a songfic until this so may it appease your angsty soul. *bows down* This is sort of a preview of what my other fanfic will have haha. Except the other one is much _much_ lighter. xD The song is "Why, or Why Not?" and it's the ending song in Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni (When the Cicadas Cry), a delightful anime full of joy and happiness and butterflies and unicorns and...I hope you're not looking it up because I was bsing that whole summary. There's a reason why it reminded me of Azula you know.** **D:**_  
><em>

_To get my happiness I had done everything,  
>but had done nothing to be blamed and accused of.<em>

Azula was always precise. Once a plan was decided, after careful and meticulous deliberation on her part, she never failed to execute it flawlessly to the letter. All of it was done for the Fire Nation, for her father's noble conquest. The decisions she made were cunning, efficient, and fool proof. These were the reasons why she was chosen. This was her destiny and right. But _one_ moment's folly, _one_ miscalculated step, and she falters for _one_ second. What fools! They had chosen to turn traitor on her. Didn't they care about their side of the war anymore or did they just like betraying people? Their superiors no less! Mai had told her coolly that it was her love for Zuko that overcame her fear. Insolent scum. Ty Lee looked almost defiantly back and even had the gall to side with that wretch. Impossible. And then she threw them into jail so that she would never see those accursed "friends" of hers ever again. To think, that she even had the mercy to let them _live_.

How ironic that Azula _herself_ would be in prison after the war. How ironic.

What did she do?

_The sound of footsteps became louder every day,  
>Then I noticed the fact there was no time.<em>

The days in Azula's cell became periods of space caught between periods of more space. In between those empty spaces were words that sounded like they meant things. Like they were supposed to form sentences. But then, as close as she would come to hearing them, they would fade entirely and become a drone of silence. Silence that made her deaf. Silence that made her scream out more silence. The silence consumed her until she fell into a disturbed sleep. And in her dreams, she imagined a gentle mumble speaking to her, not at all like the heavy pressure that held her while she was awake. One that she didn't understand, but that soothed her nonetheless. Never in her life had she so desperately desired to sleep forever. Unfortunately, she had to wake up sometime. Again, the silence would threaten to engulf her, bringing more and more illusions of what had once been. Conjuring up twisted shadows of the past that haunted her.

Ty Lee watched Azula stare blankly into space then scream shrilly today. Every visit, the acrobat would murmur words of comfort for hours until the yells died down into a simpering whimper.

"I love you 'Zula. I love you."

_I was a believer in life to be myself always,  
>and was asking whether I would be alive.<em>

It could have been ten years and the former princess wouldn't have noticed. Time had no meaning anymore. Life had no meaning anymore. On those rare occasions where she did regain some of her sanity, the fire bender would look at the shadows on the walls of her cage. Azula would have laughed bitterly had it not been for her lack of vocal usage since who knows when. It was no secret that she was insane as all hell. If an insane person admits they're insane, does that mean they're insane? She was too far gone. Her shattered pride was weightless when measured on the scale of life. It was nothing now.

_Give me a reason why not to adopt in this way,  
>or judge me to be guilty of so many incurable sins.<em>

Bleakly, all things considered, Azula was said to have the grim prediction that she would stay this way until she was merely a rotting pile of bones and a bundle of dirty rags. On the bottom. Of a dirty prison floor with no light or warmth. Cold, chilling, alone. She had to atone for her sins. Zuko's voice mocked her within the silence. Piercing it with his stabbing comments. Her most coherent moments were when she muttered to herself.

"I just have to adapt. Father always told me to adapt to the situation at hand. Stay on your toes. No one can be trusted. Friends are tools. Tools can be destroyed as is seen fit."

But why? A flurry of pink and red with trims of white settled in front of her.

"You're not a monster."

And suddenly, none of that mattered.

_Tell me why, or why not. Complaining way too much,  
>maybe I overlooked something fatal for me.<em>

Ty Lee couldn't comprehend the pain. The almost fruitlessness of her mission. The dark walls surrounded her every step even as she breathed fresh air. The choking grasp of chains bound her even if she wasn't bound by any. The day usually began in an upbeat way. She smiled. She laughed. She joked.

No response.

She stops. She hiccups. She sobs.

No response.

"I-I'm s-sorry 'Zula. Real sorry."

No response.

And she resolves to stop complaining. She needs Azula back.

_The whole world was at a complete standstill,  
>and I was in fetters, at the mercy of the mob.<em>

"Just execute Ms. Former Princess already." "Yeah, I hear ya'. It was about time she got hun-"

A fast paced succession of what appeared to be hand movements rapidly hit one of the men talking at various vital points. Thump. The deadweight of a newly fallen body made an imprint in the dirt. The young Kyoshi warrior jumped agilely to a nearby branch and stuck her tongue out. These men nowadays. Before, they would sing nothing but praises about one of the most feared people in the Fire Nation but now... Agni, now... Ty Lee slapped her face lightly with both hands as if trying to wake from a dream. While it may be futile, the best she could do was try. Who would stop her from trying anyway?

Probably everyone. Most likely no one. She was ready either way.

When Azula was captured, all she could do was look through a stained glass. Not the beautiful ones that were crafted with skill, but the glass of a window from a house in decay. The blurriness filled her eyes every single time. And it seemed as if every day the princess descended into madness even more than a murderer who had committed a massacre. It was sickening. How desperately she craved to look away. The first day she came, she had begun retching on the spot. But it was then that she resolved to continue watching. Waiting.

The death threats. The jeers outside the prison walls. The cursing of a dead regime. Could Azula hear them? Ty Lee shook her head.

Azula heard only what she wanted to hear.

**Kirra says: Me is sorries for delayed chapters. Me is sorries for not finish song. But me is joyous you read story! Me give you pig cow for offering! Review for pig cow? :D**


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